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Electron Perform "Chemical Warfare Brigade"

Photo by Andrew Blackstein

Electron performed Marc Brownstein’s “Chemical Warfare Brigade” rock opera in its entirety at New Haven, CT’s Toad’s Place on Saturday night. The current version of Electron—Brownstein, Disco Biscuits/Conspirator keyboardist Aron Magner, Brothers Past guitarist Tom Hamilton and Lotus drummer Mike Greenfield—offered “Chemical Warfare Brigade” as their first set. Brownstein first hinted that the band would perform the opera in a recent Jambands.com interview. Then, the quartet returned for a second set and encore consisting of songs like “Triumph,” “Home Again,” “Grass Is Green” and “Kamole Sands” as well as some Pink Floyd covers.

Brownstein wrote “Chemical Warfare Brigade” during his six-month hiatus from the Disco Biscuits in 2000 and first performed the opera during an Electron show on August 18, 2000. The opera consists of Biscuit songs such as “Plan B,” “Little Lai,” “And the Ladies Were the Rest of the Night,” “Floodlights,” “Shelby Rose,” “Chemical Warfare Brigade,” “Three Wishes” and “Confrontation.”

After Brownstein returned to the band, The Disco Biscuits performed “Chemical Warfare Brigade” on December 20, 2000 at Plainview, NY’s The Vanderbilt. They have performed the opera four additional times, most recently at Providence, RI’s Lupo’s on June 3, 2009.

uckkkk….I was hoping this fiasco would have never been played again. I still want my money back for that 12/29/00 show.

mayor of whoville May 13, 2013, 17:49:08

It was 12/30/00…..I still have the playball (playbill) from that show… remember doing donuts in the snow storm spun on acid after 12/29. John and congrats to blackstein for getting his photography credited